Revista de Biología Tropical ISSN Impreso: 0034-7744 ISSN electrónico: 2215-2075

OAI: https://revistas.ucr.ac.cr/index.php/rbt/oai
Population structure of the red mangrove crab, Goniopsis cruentata (Decapoda: Grapsidae) under different fishery impacts: Implications for resource management
PDF
HTML

Keywords

body size
fecundity
Grapsidae
management plan
overfishing
fecundidad
Grapsidae
plan de manejo
sobrepesca
tamaño corporal

How to Cite

Hirose, G. L., Souza, L. S., Silva, S. L. R., Alves, D. F. R., & Negreiros-Fransozo, M. L. (2015). Population structure of the red mangrove crab, Goniopsis cruentata (Decapoda: Grapsidae) under different fishery impacts: Implications for resource management. Revista De Biología Tropical, 63(2), 443–457. https://doi.org/10.15517/rbt.v63i2.15432

Abstract

The red mangrove crab, Goniopsis cruentata, influences the recruitment and composition of plant species in the mangrove ecosystem and it is an important fishery resource. Nevertheless, no current management and conservation plans are available for this species for the Brazilian coast. This investigation evaluated the population structure and reproductive biology in populations of G. cruentata under contrasting fishery pressures. The sampling program was carried out in two mangroves, Vaza-Barris and Sergipe River, from January through December 2011. Crabs from both mangroves were randomly collected by a professional fisherman during daytime low tide periods, using a fishing rod baited with pieces of a locally abundant gastropod, Pugilina morio, during 20min/area (catch per unit effort). Monthly measurements of air, sediment surface layer and water temperatures were obtained with a digital thermometer and salinity with an optical refractometer. Both crab populations were compared concerning their abundance, body size, sex ratio, size at onset of sexual maturity and fecundity (FI). Abiotic factors (air, water and mud temperature; and salinity) showed no significant differences between sampling localities. A total of 4 370 crabs were sampled, 2 829 from the Sergipe River and 1 541 from the Vaza-Barris River. The abundance and body size of crabs were compared between mangroves, and statistically significant differences were found. The sex ratio for both populations differed from the expected 1:1 ratio, and a significant deviation in favor of juvenile males was obtained, while adults showed a bias toward females. The estimated size at onset of sexual maturity for both sexes was similar in both populations. However, the populations differed significantly in the number and volume of eggs: a higher FI was obtained in females from the Sergipe River, while a higher egg volume was observed in females from the Vaza-Barris River mangrove. These results indicated a tendency to decrease the body size, the abundance of crabs and the reproductive potential of the species, with higher fishing intensities, reinforcing the need to develop a management plan as well as to establish conservation units for G. cruentata in the Northeastern Brazilian coast. Habitat loss in conjunction with long-term overfishing can have irreversible consequences, which can impact not only the populations of commercially exploited crabs, but the dynamics of virtually the entire mangrove ecosystem.

https://doi.org/10.15517/rbt.v63i2.15432
PDF
HTML

References

Almeida, A. C., Baeza, J. A., Fransozo, V., Castilho, A. L., & Fransozo, A. (2012). Reproductive biology and recruitment of Xiphopenaeus kroyeri in a marine protected area in the Western Atlantic: implications for resource management. Aquatic Biology, 17(1), 57-69.

Baeza, J. A., Furlan, M., Almeida, A. C., Barros-Alves, S. P., Alves, D. F. R., & Fransozo, V. (2013). Population dynamics and reproductive traits of the ornamental crab Porcellana sayana: implications for fishery management and aquaculture. Sexuality and Early Development in Aquatic Organisms, 1, 1-12.

Blackburn, T. M., Gaston, K. J., & Loder, N. (1999). Geographic gradients in body size: a clarification of Bergmann’s rule. Diversity and Distributions, 5(4), 165-174.

Blanckenhorn, W. U., & Demont, M. (2004). Bergmann and converse Bergmann latitudinal clines in arthropods: Two ends of a continuum? Integrative and Comparative Biology, 44(6), 413-424.

Botelho, E. R. O., Andrade, C. E. R., & Santos, M. C. F. (2004). Estudo da população de aratu-do-mangue, Goniopsis cruentata (Latreille, 1803) (Crustacea, Decapoda, Grapsidae) no estuário do rio Camaragibe (Alagoas – Brasil). Boletim Técnico Científico do CEPENE, 12, 91-98.

Campbell, A., & Eagles, M. D. (1983). Size at maturity and fecundity of rock crabs, Cancer irroratus, from the Bay of Fundy and southwestern Nova Scotia. Fishery Bulletin, 81(2), 357-362.

Carvalho, M. E., & Fontes, A. L. (2007). A carcinicultura no espaço litorâneo Sergipano. Revista da Fapese, 3(1), 87-112.

Carver, A. M., Wolcott, T. G., Wolcott, D. L., & Hines, A. H. (2005). Unnatural selection: effects of a male-focused size-selective fishery on reproductive potential of a blue crab population. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology, 319(1), 29-41.

Castiglioni, D. S., & Coelho, P. A. (2011). Determinação da maturidade sexual de Ucides cordatus (Crustacea, Brachyura, Ucididae) em duas áreas de manguezal do litoral sul de Pernambuco, Brasil. Iheringia Série Zoologia, 101(1-2), 138-144.

Castilho, A. L., Gavio, M. A., Costa, R. C., Boschi, E. E., Bauer, R. T., & Fransozo, A. (2007). Latitudinal variation in population structure and reproductive pattern of the endemic South American shrimp Artemesia longinaris (Decapoda: Penaeoidea). Journal of Crustacean Biology, 27(4), 548-552.

Cobo, V. J., & Fransozo, A. (2003). External factors determining breeding season in the red mangrove crab Goniopsis cruentata (Latreille) (Crustacea, Brachyura, Grapsidae) on the São Paulo State northern coast, Brazil. Revista Brasileira de Zoologia, 20(2), 213-217.

Cobo, V. J., & Fransozo, A. (2005). Physiological maturity and relationship of growth and reproduction in the red mangrove crab Goniopsis cruentata (Latreille) (Brachyura, Grapsidae) on the coast of São Paulo, Brazil. Revista Brasileira de Zoologia, 22(1), 219-223.

Colpo, K. D., Chacur, M. M., Guimarães, F. J., & Negreiros-Fransozo, M. L. (2011). Subtropical Brazilian mangroves as a refuge of crab (Decapoda: Brachyura) diversity. Biodiversity and Conservation, 20(13), 3239-3250.

Conde, J. E., & Díaz, H. (1989). The mangrove tree crab Aratus pisonii in a tropical estuarine coastal lagoon. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science, 28(6), 639-650.

Conover, D. O., & Munch, S. B. (2002). Sustaining fisheries yields over evolutionary time scales. Science, 297(5578), 94-96.

Corgos, A., & Freire, J. (2006). Morphometric and gonad maturity in the spider crab Maja brachydactyla: a comparison of methods for estimating size at maturity in species with determinate growth. Journal of Marine Science, 63(5), 851-859.

Costa, R. C., Fransozo, A., Freire, F. A. M., & Castilho, A. L. (2007). Abundance and ecological distribution of the “sete-barbas” shrimp Xiphopenaeus kroyeri (Heller, 1862) (Decapoda: Penaeoidea) in three bays of the Ubatuba region, southeastern Brazil. Gulf and Caribbean Research, 19, 33-41.

Costa, T. M., & Negreiros-Fransozo, M. L. (1996). Fecundidade de Callinectes danae Smith, 1869 (Crustacea, Decapoda, Portunidae) na região de Ubatuba (SP), Brasil. Arquivos de Biologia e Tecnologia, 39, 393-400.

Díaz, H., & Conde, J. E. (1988). On the food sources for the mangrove tree crab Aratus pisonii (Brachyura: Grapsidae). Biotropica, 20, 348-350.

Díaz, H., & Conde, J. E. (1989). Population dynamics and life history of the mangrove crab Aratus pisonii (Brachyura, Grapsidae) in a marine environment. Bulletin of Marine Science, 45(1), 148-163.

Diele, K., Koch, V., & Saint-Paul, U. 2005. Population structure, catch composition and CPUE of the artisanally harvested mangrove crab Ucides cordatus (Ocypodidae) in the Caeté estuary, North Brazil: indications for overfishing? Aquatic Living Resources, 18(2), 169-178.

Ferreira, A. C., Ganade, G., Freire, F. A. M., & Attayde, J. L. (2013). Propagule predation in a Neotropical mangrove: the role of the Grapsid crab Goniopsis cruentata. Hydrobiologia, 707(1), 135-146.

Fisher, J. A. D, Frank, K. T., & Leggett, W. C. (2010). Global variation in marine fish body size and its role in biodiversity–ecosystem functioning. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 405, 1-13.

Fox, C. W., & Czesak, M. L. 2000. Evolutionary ecology of progeny size in Arthropods. Annual Review of Entomology, 45(1), 341-369.

Guerra, R. S., Nascimento, M. M. F., Miesch, S., Najafzadeh, M. J., Ribeiro, R. O., Ostrensky, A., Hoog, G. S., Vicente, V. A., & Boeger, W. A. (2013). Black yeast biota in the mangrove, in search of the origin of the lethargic crab disease (LCD). Mycopathologia, 175(5-6), 421-430.

Hartnoll, R. G., & Gould, P. (1988). Brachyuran life history strategies and the optimization of egg production. Symposia of the Zoological Society of London, 59, 1-9.

Hines, A. H. (1989). Geographic variation in size at maturity in Brachyuran crabs. Bulletin of Marine Science, 45(2), 356-368.

Hirose, G. L., Fransozo, V., Tropea, C., Lopez-Greco, L. S., & Negreiros-Fransozo, M. L. (2012). Comparison of body size, relative growth and size at onset sexual maturity of Uca uruguayensis (Crustacea: Decapoda: Ocypodidae) from different latitudes in the southwestern Atlantic. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom, 93(3), 781-788.

Jones, M. B., & Simons, M. J. (1983). Latitudinal variation in reproductive characteristics of a mud crab, Helice crassa (Grapsidae). Bulletin of Marine Science, 33(3), 656-670.

Kristensen, E. (2008). Mangrove crabs as ecosystem engineers; with emphasis on sediment processes. Journal of Sea Research, 59(1), 30-43.

Lardies, M. A., & Castilla, J. C. 2001. Latitudinal variation in the reproductive biology of the commensal crab Pinnaxodes chilenis (Decapoda: Pinnotheridae) along the Chilean coast. Marine Biology, 139(6), 1125-1133.

Lee, S. Y. (1997). Potential trophic importance of the faecal material of the mangrove sesarmine crab Sesarma messa. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 159, 275-284.

Lee, S. Y. (1998). Ecological role of grapsid crabs in mangrove ecosystems: a review. Marine and Freshwater Research, 49, 335-343.

Lima-Gomes, R. C., Cobo, V. J., & Fransozo, A. (2011). Feeding behaviour and ecosystem role of the red mangrove crab Goniopsis cruentata (Latreille, 1803) (Decapoda, Grapsoidea) in a subtropical estuary on the Brazilian coast. Crustaceana, 84, 735-747.

Lira, J. J. P. R., Calado, T. C. S., & Araújo, M. S. L. C. (2013). Breeding period in the mangrove crab Goniopsis cruentata (Decapoda: Grapsidae) in Northeast Brazil. Revista Biología Tropical, 61, 29-38.

Ma, H., Townsend, H., Zhang, X., Sigrist, M., & Christensen, V. (2010). Using a fisheries ecosystem model with a water quality model to explore trophic and habitat impacts on a fisheries stock: A case study of the blue crab population in the Chesapeake Bay. Ecological Modelling, 221, 997-1004.

Maciel, D. C., & Alves, A. G. C. (2009). Conhecimentos e práticas locais relacionadas ao aratu Goniopsis cruentata (Latreille, 1803) em Barra de Sirinhaém, litoral sul de Pernambuco, Brasil. Biota Neotropica, 9, 29-36.

Macintosh, D. J. (1988). The ecology and physiology of decapods of mangrove swamps. Symposia of the Zoological Society of London, 59, 315-341.

Macintosh, D. J., Ashton, E. C., & Havanon, S. (2002). Mangrove rehabilitation and intertidal biodiversity: a study in the Ranong Mangrove Ecosystem, Thailand. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science, 55, 331-345.

McNab, B. K. (1971). On the ecological significance of Bergmann’s rule. Ecology, 52, 845-854.

Melo, G. A. S. (1996). Manual de identificação dos Brachyura (caranguejos e siris) do litoral brasileiro. São Paulo: Plêiade.

Menezes, A. P. D., Araújo, M. S. L. C., & Calado, T. C. S. (2012). Bioecologia de Goniopsis cruentata (Latreille, 1803) (Decapoda, Grapsidae) do complexo estuarino-lagunar Mundaú/Manguaba, Alagoas, Brasil. Natural Resources, 2(2), 37-49.

Moura, N. F. O., & Coelho, P. A. (2003). Fecundidade de Goniopsis cruentata (Latreille, 1803) (Crustacea: Brachyura: Grapsidae) no manguezal do rio Paripe – Pernambuco – Brasil. Tropical Oceanography, 31(2), 127-133.

Moura, N. O. F., & Coelho, P. A. (2004). Maturidade sexual fisiológica em Goniopsis cruentata (Latreille) (Crustácea, Brachyura, Grapsidae) no Estuário de Paripe, Pernambuco, Brasil. Revista Brasileira de Zoologia, 21(4), 1011-1015.

Negreiros-Fransozo, M. L., Fransozo, A., González-Gordillo, J. I., & Bertini, G. (2002). First appraisal on releasing and reinvasion of decapod larvae in a subtropical estuary from Brazil. Acta Limnologica Brasiliensis, 14(2), 87-94.

Nerot, C., Meziane, T., Provost-Govrich, A., Rybarczyk, H., & Lee, S. Y. (2009). Role of grapsid crabs, Parasesarma erythrodactyla, in entry of mangrove leaves into an estuarine food web: a mesocosm study. Marine Biology, 156(11), 2343-2352.

Nordhaus, I., Wolff, M., & Diele, K. (2006). Litter processing and population food intake of the mangrove crab Ucides cordatus in a high intertidal forest in northern Brazil. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science, 67(1), 239-250.

Parker, G. A., & Begon, M. B. (1986). Optimal egg size and clutch size: effects of environment and maternal phenotype. The American Naturalist, 128, 573-592.

Pauly, D., Christensen, V., Guénette, S., Pitcher, T. J., Sumaila, U. R., Walters, C. J., Watson, R., & Zeller, D. (2002). Towards sustainability in world fisheries. Nature, 418(6898), 689-695.

Pinheiro, M. A. A., & Terceiro, O. S. L. (2000). Fecundity and reproductive output of the speckled swimming crab Arenaeus cribrarius (Lamarck, 1818) (Brachyura, Portunidae). Crustaceana, 73(9), 1121-1137.

Piou, C., Berger, U., & Feller, I. C. (2009). Spatial structure of a leaf-removing crab population in a mangrove of North-Brazil. Wetlands Ecology and Management, 17(2), 93-106.

Powers, L. W., & Bliss, D. E. 1983. Terrestrial adaptations. In D. E. Bliss (Ed.), The Biology of Crustacea (pp. 271-333). New York: Academic Press.

Rodríguez, G. (1987). Structure and production in Neotropical mangroves. Tree, 2(9), 264-267.

Saenger, P., Hegerl, E. J., & Davie, J. D. (1983). Global status of mangrove ecosystems. Environmentalist, 3(3), 1-88.

Sampedro, M., González-Gurriarán, E., Freire, J., & Muiño, R. (1999). Morphometry and sexual maturity in the spider crab Maja squinado (Decapoda: Majidae) in Galicia, Spain. Journal of Crustacean Biology, 19, 578-592.

Sandrini-Neto, L., & Lana, P. C. (2012). Distribution patterns of the crab Ucides cordatus (Brachyura, Ucididae) at different spatial scales in subtropical mangroves of Paranaguá Bay (southern Brazil). Helgoland Marine Research, 66(2), 167-174.

Santos, M. C. F., Botelho, E. R. R. O., & Ivo, C. T. C. (2001). Biologia populacional e manejo da pesca de aratu, Goniopsis cruentata (Latreille, 1803) (Crustacea: Decapoda: Grapsidae) no litoral sul de Pernambuco–Brasil. Boletim Técnico-Científico do CEPENE, 9, 87-123.

Schaeffer-Novelli,Y., Cintrón-Molero, G., & Adaime, R. R. (1990). Variability of mangrove ecosystems along the Brazilian Coast. Estuaries, 13(2), 204-218.

Schaeffer-Novelli, Y., Cintrón-Molero, G., Soares, M. L. G., & De-Rosa, T. (2000). Brazilian mangroves. Aquatic Ecosystem Health and Management, 3(4), 561-570.

Schubart, C. D., Cuesta, J. A., & Felder, D. L. (2002). Glyptograpsidae, a new brachyuran family from Central America: larval and adult morphology, and a molecular phylogeny of the Grapsoidea. Journal of Crustacean Biology, 22(1), 28-44.

Silva, Z. S., & Oshiro, L. M. Y. (2002). Aspectos reprodutivos de Goniopsis cruentata (Latreille) (Crustacea, Brachyura, Grapsidae) na Baía de Sepetiba, Rio de Janeiro, Brasil. Revista Brasileira de Zoologia, 19(3), 907-914.

Smith, N. F., Wilcox, C., & Lessmann, J. M. (2009). Fiddler crab burrowing affects growth and production on the white mangrove (Laguncularia racemosa) in a restored Florida coastal marsh. Marine Biology, 156(11), 2255-2266.

Souza, L. P., & Silva, J. R. F. (2009). Morphology of the female reproductive system of the red-clawed mangrove tree crab (Goniopsis cruentata Latreille, 1803). Scientia Marina, 73(3), 527-539.

Souza, M. J. F. T., Dantas-Junior, J. F., Silva, F. C. B., Félix, D. C. F., & Santos, J. C. (2012). Estatística pesqueira da costa do Estado de Sergipe e Extremo norte da Bahia 2010. São Cristóvão: Editora UFS.

Timi, J. T., Lanfranchi, A. L., & Poulin, R. (2005). Is there a trade-off between fecundity and egg volume in the parasitic copepod Lernanthropus cynoscicola? Parasitology Research, 95(1), 1-4.

Wilson, K., & Hardy, I. C. W. (2002). Statistical analysis of sex ratios: an introduction. In I. C. W. Hardy (Ed.), Sex ratios: concepts and research methods (pp. 48-92). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Zar, J. H. (2010). Biostatistical analysis. Upper Saddle River: Prentice-Hall/Pearson.

Comments

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Copyright (c) 2015 Revista de Biología Tropical

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.